Finding A Ratification Solution In The EU-Mercosur Trade Deal

On Dec. 6, 2024, following more than 25 years of negotiations, the European Union (EU) and Mercosur (comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) finalized their trade agreement. The two massive common markets aim to create one of the world's largest free trade areas, encompassing over 700 million people and nearly 25 per cent of the global GDP. (If you haven't already, take a look at our earlier publication summarizing the key points of the agreement.) The next step is ratification. And because we're talking about a multi/supranational entity, it's complicated.

Paradoxically, the reason why ratification of new generation trade agreement is complicated is actually fairly simple: the more ambitious the agreement, the more it risks intruding into areas reserved to individual Member States. Which means that ratification at the supranational level would not be enough to cover the entirety of the agreement's coverage. But ratification at the national level